JOHN LENNON

A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality. 

After losing his mother in a car accident, the young John Lennon never seemed to find his way in the academic settings that his aunt Mimi had secured for him. When he was admitted into art school, Lennon had already gotten tired of the “system” that controlled his ambitions. With his long-time friend Paul McCartney, who had also lost his mother at a young age, they started playing and writing songs together. After being passionately dedicated to a guitar his aunt bought him, John and Paul started their first band called The Quarry Men.

John Lennon was a natural leader of all the ensuing bands that followed. As the group became older and more experienced, they changed their name from The Silver Beetles to The Beatles in response to the popularity of beat music during the time. With Ringo Starr and George Harrison, the group began playing local venues and started recording their own music.

In England, the Beatles became a national success. With their fame spreading across the oceans, they decided to tour the United States and became an instant hit. However, a controversial statement by John Lennon that his group was more “popular than Jesus” sparked public outcry across the southern and mid-western United States. With increased pressure, Lennon publicly apologized for his statement, although he said that it had been taken out of context – that his band, or television, or pop culture was more popular in England than Jesus.

In his personal life, Lennon did not find much fulfillment with his first wife Cynthia, even though the two bore a son together named Julian. Lennon didn’t have much of a relationship with his son, saying that he was born out of a whisky bottle. The two became closer as they aged, but it was with Lennon’s second son Sean that he devoted his time and energy towards. Both Sean and Julian have musical careers and have had success on their own merit.

For his political lyrics and open comments about America and Britain’s role in Vietnam and elsewhere, the FBI attempted to have Lennon deported. But, hearing after hearing and deadline after deadline were extended or put on hold and Lennon was never officially deported from the United States. In 1971, Lennon released Imagine, a hugely popular solo album. With lyrics that became increasingly controversial, Lennon felt pressure and had various death threats. In December 1980, Mark Chapman shot and killed Lennon in front of his home at the Dakota building in New York City